I'm really enjoying seeing these characters deal with the ramifications of their actions during AvX. It's excellent work. ( )

Decided to take a break from the New 52 and I had 3 of the graphic novels so back to the X-Men. I LOVE Bachalo's art, he's probably my favorite comic book artist. He stayed pretty tame on this one though, so I was a little disappointed.

This is pretty heavy stuff, as usual for X-men, and all the deep character interactions of the past come into play. Really cool so far. Can't wait to see how it turns out. ( )

I originally read this in its single issue form; I have just finished it in trade format. I appreciated it more with the context of other 'X' books I have recently read. The art has grown on me and I also enjoy the story and direction that the team is going. I find myself sympathizing with both sides of mutants, and also the avengers, but particularly with Cyclops' team. ( )

This is another collection that on first blush I didn't really care for but after revisiting it I really enjoyed. The idea of Cyclops leading a group of underground X-Men was a little weird at first but I actually like this pretty stark counterpoint it presents to All-New. Chris Bachalo takes a little getting used to (and that one Frazier Irving issue sure is a Frazier Irving issue). I'm pleasantly intrigued, though, all in all, and look forward to more. ( )

So, with all the Marvel NOW! changes that have been happening, it's been hard for me to keep up with what's going on. While I think DC handled their reboot better only in that every series restarted at the same time, I like how Marvel kept the stories going, just freshened them up a bit. But, as they started new series at different times during their reboot, I lost track of what's what, so am just sticking to the series that I'm interested in, like Uncanny X-Men.

I never understood why they ended the original run of the flagship X-Men title, other than to try to gain some sales, so when I heard then that they were bringing the title back, I was hardly surprised. This time around, Bendis has taken the reins of the series, and while I absolutely think he needs to be removed from being the writer for the big universe-spanning crossovers (such as Age of Ultron - ugh), I think his take on the rogue team of X-Men is fantastic!

This story takes place fairly shortly after the events of AvX and the Phoenix event and finds the rogue band of X-Men (Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto, and Magik) trying to find new mutants before the government does, and protecting them. They have opened a new school at a secret location, where they hope to train these mutants in the use of their powers and uphold the Xavier dream. However, this is a team of broken X-Men. During the Phoenix event, Cyclops went mad and stole the Phoenix power from the other hosts, and in the ensuing battle, damaged the powers of several of the X-Men. So now, not only is this team of X-Men training other new mutants, they are having to retrain themselves and see if they can restore their powers. These are characters that now that they are broken, and are aware of what they were trying to do during the Phoenix event, and are now trying to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

The first arc finds the team trying to rescue Fabio Medina, a new mutant whose powers just emerged. Almost as soon as the team arrives to help Medina, a new breed of Sentinels arrive on the scene as well. They have no idea who sent the Sentinels after them, or how whoever did send them knew they were going to be at that precise location, but they assume that it is SHIELD.

Cyclops then decides to go to the Jean Grey School to see if he can recruit any of the students there for his new Xavier School (so many schools!). After a brief argument with the X-Men at that school, they return to the Xavier School, only to have the Stepford Sisters and Angel (from their past - see All-New X-Men for that story) join the team.

They no more than get these students to the school than Magik is ripped out the room, and thrown back in a swirl of demon fire. It is revealed that part of her broken powers have been ripping Limbo apart, and Dormammu's realm is now in danger, so he brought her to Limbo to kill her and take over Limbo as well as the Dark Dimension. Magik thinks this worst is over, but it's only just begun.

Frankly, I loved this volume. This new take on Cyclops, where he's almost maniacal in his devotion to rescuing new mutants is impressive. Add to that his dealing with his broken powers, and you've got a great mix for characters development. Bendis handled all the characters, in my opinion, and I'm really anxious to see how he plays this series out. Chris Bachalo and Frazer Irving's art is fantastic. I've always been a fan of Bachalo, and this is my first time experiencing Irving's art, but his style suited the issues that dealt with Limbo perfectly.

So while I still think Bendis needs to have his influence on the bigger spanning events scaled back quite a bit, I'm pleased with how he's handling this title. ( )